The Rivers State Islamic Leader and Vice President General of the Rivers State Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Nasir Awhelebe Uhor has equivocally condemned the pre-mediated, unprovoked and unwarranted attack by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on defenceless, innocent, law-abiding Muslims and the vandalisation of their mosque in Oyigbo, penultimate Tuesday.
Uhor made the condemnation during a press briefing at the council’s secretariat in Port Harcourt.
According to him, the IPOB attack on the police and military personnel who were deployed to ensure peace and order was also condemnable, as it had led to the untimely death of two police officers, burning down of patrol vans as well as injured scores of Muslims in the area, saying that “enough is enough”.
He said Muslims concede that IPOB members have a right to agitate for the actualization of whatever they perceived to be their interest as well as their right to lawful and peaceful gathering for legitimate protest, but added that the pursuit of IPOB members’ rights should not also be at the expense of the rights of Muslims who were equally guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
The Muslim leader recalled that over the years, the Muslim community had suffered so many unprovoked attacks and persecution by the Igbos in Rivers State, especially in Port Harcourt, pointing out that in the last two years, IPOB protests have always targeted Muslims and mosques at Gambia Street, Elelenwo, Eleme and Oyigbo, among others.
Uhor noted that the fateful Tuesday attack was not new.
He also noted that in 2003, seven young men dressed as Muslim caftans, carrying kettles and rosary were caught in the premises of a church in Rumuokurushe, near Port Harcourt, trying to impersonate Islam.
Uhor explained that when the suspects were searched, the kettles were found to contain petrol, saying that police investigation revealed that they were Igbos and Christians.
He added that following the discovery, the then Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, had seriously warned any promoter of inter-religious and inter-ethnic crisis of the consequences of such actions as the law would take its cause.
“We are saying that enough is enough. We insist and demand peaceful inter-ethnic and inter-religious co-existence. We remain committed to it at all times. But the Igbos will be making dangerous mistakes to take our peaceful disposition as a sign of weakness,” he posited.
He added that “Allah has not created any ethnic nation that has a monopoly of violence. The Igbos should, therefore, be reminded that violence, hatred, arson are neither rocket science nor do they take multitude to perpetuate”.
Uhor further stated that their grievances against the Nigerian government should not be visited on the Muslims in Rivers State as some Muslims were from the North and West, stressing that any attack on them would be viewed as ethnic assault, pointing at the last crisis in Eleme which claimed an entire Muslim family.
He, however, commended the General Officer Commanding and officers and men of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in the state, the police commissioner and the authorities of the DSS for swift response and professionalism in quelling the conflict.
The leader appealed to the Muslims to remain calm and law-abiding, and advised them not to resort to self-held while urging governments at all levels to discourage such avoidable senseless show of ethnic bigotry.

Collins Barasimeye